Marcus Stroman will earn $3.4 million in 2017 after winning his arbitration case with the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays filed at $3.1 million when the sides exchanged figures last month, but the panel of three arbitrators sided with Stroman. As a file and trial team, the Blue Jays go to arbitration hearings any time they exchange figures with eligible players.
“He really couldn’t lose,” Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. “I’m sure if some guys lose it may affect them differently than other guys, but I don’t think that would have affected him.
“Usually guys are making out alright, win or lose. I do hear you can get beat up a bit in those things because it’s a negotiation. but nobody is losing.”
The decision also brings the Blue Jays’ payroll into sharper focus. The club’s 2017 commitments now surpass $156 million, not including players like Kevin Pillar who earn close to the league minimum, or players like Jarrod Saltalamacchia, whose contracts are not guaranteed. As such, the Blue Jays are positioned to open the season with a payroll in excess of $160 million.
Stroman pitched 204 innings in 2016, his first full season in a big-league rotation. The 25-year-old right-hander posted a 4.37 ERA with a 9-10 record in 32 starts, including an opening day assignment. He also started two playoff games: the must-win Wild Card game that Toronto won over Baltimore plus Game 3 of the ALCS, which the Blue Jays lost to Cleveland.
All of the Blue Jays’ arbitration cases have now been resolved. Jon Heyman of MLB Network first reported the Stroman decision Tuesday.
With files from Shi Davidi
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